WE CLAIM
1. A method of fabricating a laminate structure, the method comprising:
subjecting a preform to chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) to define a densified ceramic matrix composite (CMC) structure;
adding a supplemental preform to the CMC structure to define an expanded structure;
performing CVI using the expanded structure.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method includes repeating the adding and the performing.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method includes performing the method so that a resulting structure is shaped into a specified shape.
4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the specified shape is of a turbine component.
5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the turbine component is selected from the group consisting of a combustion liner, a vane, a blade, a nozzle, a bucket, a transition piece, a turbine center frame, and a shroud.
6. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein performing the method so that the resulting structure is the specified shape of a turbine component includes using a mold.
7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein one or more of the preform or the supplemental preform include unidirectional fibers.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the unidirectional fibers include a fiber coating.
9. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the unidirectional fibers include SiC.
10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the preform and supplemental preform have an open porosity content of about 20% to about 80%.
11. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the performing CVI includes depositing a material selected from the group consisting of SiC, Si3N4, BN, B4C, MoSi2, SiO2, SiOC, SiNC, and SiONC, within a porosity of the expanded structure.
12. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method includes shaping the preform to define a shape of a surface of a turbine component.
13. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method includes using the densified CMC structure as a mold to shape the supplemental preform.
14. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein one or more of the subjecting or performing includes stopping infiltration short of an amount yielding maximum densification.
15. A laminate structure comprising:
a first CMC structure joined to a second CMC structure adjacent to the first CMC structure;
wherein a density profile of the first CMC structure is discontinuous with a density profile of the second CMC structure.
16. The laminate structure as claimed in claim 16, wherein the first CMC
structure has a first thickness having a U shaped density profile, and the second

CMC structure has a second thickness having a density profile that is not U shaped.
17. The laminate structure as claimed in claim 16, wherein the laminate structure includes a center thickness section, a first end thickness section and a second end thickness section, wherein the center thickness section has a U shaped density profile, and the first end thickness section and the second end thickness section have ramp shaped density profiles.
18. The laminate structure as claimed in claim 16, wherein a density at an interface between the first CMC structure and the second CMC structure is stepwise discontinuous.
19. The laminate structure as claimed in claim 16, shaped in a shape of a turbine component.
20. The laminate structure as claimed in claim 16, wherein the laminate structure includes a CMC structure defining an end surface of the laminate structure, wherein the CMC structure defining an end surface has a lower maximum density than a CMC structure of the laminate structure that does not define an end surface of the laminate structure.
21. The laminate structure as claimed in claim 16, wherein an end thickness section of the laminate structure has a lower maximum density than a center thickness section of the laminate structure.